Primary Menu

Purple Rain: Prince’s purple world

Purple Rain is Prince‘s second album, published in 1984 it contains the famous title-track and was used as soundtrack of the homonymous movie performed by the artist himself. A worldwide musical and cinematographic success. The movie was rewarded with an Oscar for the best soundtrack and the album remained for 24 weeks at the top of american charts. Anyway an expected success for Prince Rogers Nelson – stage name Prince – who wrote and played all the instruments for his first album For You at the age of twenty in 1978.

Who is this guy?

There’s always been a bit of mystery about Prince’s origins. During the eighties the artist often amused himself inventing nonexistent stories about his childhood. What is known for sure about his childhood comes from his biography written by Mick Wall – something very sad happened in Prince life at the age of ten: his parents separated, probably because of music. He inherited his enthusiasm for music from his father, but her mother opposed: she didn’t want for his son the same destiny of the father, an ordinary dispirited pianist.

That’s another story…

But Prince’s destiny couldn’t have been more different. In a short time he went from learning piano and guitar to being a successful and world known artist. Then a life of excesses and oddities, as the weird demand of chickpea humus and plain water from Fiji Islands in his dressing room. In 2006 he became Jehovah’s Witness, and many sundays he was knocking on doors for spreading the word in Los Angeles. Excesses, women and thousands of identities characterized great part of his life, but it seems he got clean in his latest years: he became vegan and quitted smoking and drinking. On the 21st of april his corp was found in his house in Chanhassen, MN, prabably dead because of a strong dependance on painkillers.

The song Purple Rain

Save 4′.05” of your time only for you, and listen to the song Purple Rain (very interesting also the cover by Adam Levine of Maroon 5). The orchestral parts perfectly melt with the rock soul of the song, giving it a pure melancholy atmosphere. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it #143 of all songs of all time. Keeping together art and commerce Purple Rains is the symbol of the glory of this artist, and of his narcissism. Always in love with himself Prince will remain an undisputed genius in music, not only for his ability to play any instrument he may found in his hands.

I never meant to cause you any sorrow…

Like all the greatest narcissist he had a bipolar sensitivity, unsettling when present, devastating when not.

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted to one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you
Laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you
Bathing in the purple rain